


The Old Man

by DoxBox



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 04:44:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19310863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoxBox/pseuds/DoxBox





	The Old Man

The Old Man

Once upon a time, but not long ago, there was an old man. This old man, like every old person, used to be young. 

 

He was tall enough to save a cat from a tree,

 

and strong enough to pick up a car,

 

and brave enough to put out a fire.

 

But one day, his hair started to turn white.

And his arms got tired.

And his back slouched forwards.

And above all, he started to feel very, very cold.

 

And the man looked in the mirror, and saw wrinkles in his face, so he sighed to himself;  
"Oh. I've gotten old."  
And so he decided to rest. Everyone thanked him for getting their cats out of trees, and picking up their cars, and putting out their firesn and then they all went home.

And the old man went to sleep. But when he woke up, he felt bored. "I need something to do," the old man decided. "There is nothing to do here, and I am very cold."

So the old man went out to the city, to see how he could stay warm. He walked, and walked, and walked even more, until he saw a very big sign hanging over a very big store.

"THE WARM COMPANY"  
the sign said in very big letters.

The old man walked in, and saw hundreds of people all lined up, with jackets and parkas and blankets and heaters. Everyone there was trying to stay warm. 

"Hello sir!"  
A small boy said to the old man. He was  
wearing a blanket as a cape, and had to look straight up to see the old man's face.  
"Are you trying to stay warm too?" 

The old man nodded. "I am,"  
he said in his gruff, tired voice.  
"But I don't know how."

"That's easy!"  
The boy shouted, as he happily pushed the old man into a mountain of blankets. "I always use blankets to stay warm!"

But the blankets did not keep him warm.

"You're doing it all wrong!"  
Another boy with bright orange hair shouted.  
"He needs to use fire to stay warm!"  
The boy piled firewood in front of the old man, and roasted marshmallows.  
The old man, covered in blankets, roasted marshmallows too. 

But the fire did not keep him warm.

"That isn't right," a little girl yelled. "He needs very warm clothes!" And she gave the old man very warm pajamas, and a very warm hat too.

But the clothes did not keep him warm, and the old man was tired.  
"Thank you for the blankets," he smiled. "And the fire with marshmallows, and the pajamas with a hat. But I must go home now. I need to sleep."

But the children wouldn't listen.  
"Who will bring you marshmallows?" the orange haired boy demanded.

"Who will give you blankets?" the boy in the red blanket cried.

The little girl tugged on the old man's sleeve.  
"How will you know when to wear your very warm hat?" she asked.

This all left the old man very confused. How would he get marshmallows,  
or find blankets,  
or know when to wear his very warm hat?

The old man did not know. "I do not know," he told the children. "And I am very confused. But I will tell you all if I find a way." 

and the man left.

But when he got home, he saw a very red blanket folded on his bed.

and a very big marshmallow left by the fireplace.

And his very warm hats all had clocks on them.

"What happened here?" The old man wondered out loud.

And all three children ran out and yelled "surprise!"  
and hugged the old man as tightly as they could.  
"We did this for you," the girl said. "So you always had blankets, and marshmallows, and knew when to wear very warm hats."

"But... why?" The old man was still confused.

"Because we love you," the children replied.

 

And the old man understood. He did not need blankets, or marshmallows, or very warm hats after all. The children loved him.

And that made the old man feel the warmest he had felt in a very long time.


End file.
